Yesterday evening i got home from work around 5:30pm to the typically ecstatic Tara. I settled in to play some more Sniper Elite, a game that's growing on me like a weed. I've always been a sucker for stealth-type games, getting totally engrossed in sneaking around to find the perfect hole from which to snipe (while boring the pants off anyone who might be so unfortunate as to watch me play). Sniper Elite doesn't have the best graphics or gameplay mechanics, but it succeeds in capturing the sniper experience. This of course coming from someone who would barely know which way to point a sniper rifle should he ever come across one. Anyhoo, the physics of picking off targets from hundreds of yards away are well represented, and the game gives you a multitude of opportunities to pick your perch and strategy. Lots o' fun. I'm usually the one in Halo who runs in all guns blazing, but as evidenced by my fascination with Splinter Cell, i've got a furtive side too.

G and N arrived while i was trying to figure out the best way to off a German official, and were kind enough to put up with me until i did. G is off to Europe tomorrow for two weeks, one in the Ukraine followed by a hopefully more stimulating one in London. Once V got home, we had a Brick Oven dinner and watched the Apprentice. At this point i can barely keep the Donald Trump and Martha Stewart versions straight. They're both populated with self-righteous glory hounds who all think they're god's gift to corporate society. Anyway. Originally N and G had planned on coming to Popscene with us, but they were pretty worked by 10:30pm, so V and i headed off alone to pick up Jenz and swing over to 330 Ritch. To be honest i was pretty faded myself, and had a 9am Friday meeting looming, but i had agreed to go and kept my word. The reason for my atypical Popscene attendance was that night's performance by UK indie pop darlings the Magic Numbers. We arrived one song into their set, and i found a spot next to the bathrooms with a reasonable view of Romeo and Michele. I was apparently in the midst of the band's UK following, a very vocal bunch but in general nice show neighbors. By the time i settled into my niche, the band launched into my personal favorite, "Forever Lost". Wow. First of all, they were incredibly tight ... all competent on their instruments, and all perfectly in time and in tune with each other. Second, they all could sing. So many times you hear a great vocal melody on an album, then see the artist live only to learn there must've been some NASA-esque studio magic in use when they recorded the song because they can't come anywhere near those notes on stage. Not in this case. TMN's music didn't appeal to Jenz and V, but i was entranced. The girls then danced the evening away while i had a few Boddington's and stood around in my Holland kit and white Pradas and looked disaffected.

Amazingly, i've been mostly functional all day today. Abstracts for next year's Academy of Molecular Imaging meeting are due Tuesday, and my group are finalizing between 3 and 5. We'll see how many are in working order by Tuesday afternoon. I'm mostly ready for the weekend. V and i are heading north to wine country on Sunday for a tasting at the A. Rafanelli Winery in Healdsburg. Becky and Louie opened one of their bottles when we visited their house a while back, and V has been keen on checking out the operation since. My sister Emily is in town this weekend also so we'll be having dinner with her that night. Otherwise, i long for a low-key weekend with Tara doggie and my PSP and Xbox.